Chase Insufficient Funds Fee: The Final Chapter
For those who aren’t familiar with my recent financial saga, I’ll give a quick recap. For the full story, click on the links below.
August 27 – I deposit an escrow refund check from Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker into my Chase checking account.
August 29 – The funds show as available, so I transfer the money to my ING Direct savings account.
September 3 – The check from Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker bounced. Upon further investigation, Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker is in trouble and the bank that drafted my check has been told to cease & desist operations. 8 transactions come through my Chase checking account with insufficient funds. I talk to two different representatives from Chase, each telling me a different amount that my account will be charged in fees. The supervisor tells me I’ll be charged for 6 transactions at $25 each, and she’ll credit back $70. That’s what I plan on. I also contact TBW, who say a new check should be in the mail soon.
September 4 – Chase charges me a total of $204 and credits back $70. One more transaction goes through with insufficient funds, because I’m charged more than I was told I’d be charged. I talk to a 3rd representative from Chase, who tells me that I’m being charged $34 for the first 6 transactions, because I’ve had insufficient funds in the past (which is categorically untrue). I also fire off (nice) emails to three Chase executive officers. As of yet, I have not heard back from them. I call the FDIC, who seem to have no idea what is going on with TBW and the escrow accounts. They take my info and say they’ll get back to me.
Talking to Chase Bank Personnel in Person
Yesterday, September 7, I took my kids into our local Chase branch to see if they could do something for me. After giving a brief explanation to the teller, as well as a copy of a newspaper article explaining what happened to TBW and the bank that issued my check, I was nicely told to have a seat and wait for help.
After a few minutes, I talked to a Personal Finance Rep about my issue. She was very kind and sympathetic, but said I would have to talk to the people at the actual branch that my account resides. She gave me a couple of names and phone numbers for the Roseburg, OR branch and sent them an email to ask them if there was anything that could be done for me. She told me that it’s up to the individual branch as to how many charges they can reverse, because it’s the individual branch that takes a loss when reversing charges.
When I got home, I called the Roseburg branch. I was told by the assistant manager that there was nothing that could be done. I asked to talk to the manager. The manager called me back and said that she couldn’t do anything, but she would forward my information on to the district manager. Finally at 3:30 yesterday afternoon, the Roseburg manager called me back and told me that they’d credit back another $70 for a total of $140, and that’s the best they could do. I thanked her, checked my account, and the money was there.
The Bottom Line on the TBW/Chase Fiasco
- I was charged $238 in insufficient funds fees for 9 transactions.
- I was charged at $10 NSF fee for the escrow check that didn’t clear.
- I was finally told that in Oregon, the fees are $34, not $25.
- Chase credited me back a total of $140
- My total loss out of pocket is $108.
My Final Thoughts on This Experience
I’ll save an in-depth analysis for next week, when I put together a series about finding a good bank and watching out for bank fees. However, I do have a couple of thoughts.
First, I’m grateful that I’m only out $108. I don’t like it. I don’t like that I was initially told that I’d only be out $80, and Chase didn’t follow through on what I was told. But they didn’t have to cover any of this, so I realize I’m fortunate.
I’m not grateful enough to remain with Chase for my banking. After experiencing these awful fees and Chase’s inflexibility first hand, my heart goes out to people who have to deal with this and don’t have any type of cushion. In my opinion, their fee structure is very predatory. I can easily see how someone with no emergency fund could have their life completely messed up if this happened to them. I’m not talking about someone who recklessly bounces checks. But someone like me who incurs these fees through no fault of their own. It’s inexcusable, again, in my opinion.
The newspaper article I found said that Platinum Community Bank was finally seized by the FDIC and replacement checks should be going out soon. Hopefully I’ll have my $1200 in escrow funds in a week or two, and I can go about the business of moving my checking account.
Lest you think that all banks are as inflexible as Chase, tomorrow I’ll be posting a story similar to mine that took place at a different bank…with much different results.
So what do you think? Am I doing the right thing in changing banks? Should I have kept fighting for that last $108?
If you like this article, please sign up for free weekly email updates.
Author
By Lynnae McCoy, on Sep 9, 2009
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
Freebies
- Credit Sesame: Get free credit score
- Personal Capital: Free money management tool
- Ebates: Get $10 to sign up, plus earn cash back on purchases
- 360 Checking: Open a checking account and get $50
Popular Articles
- How to Save Money and Cut Spending: 93 Ideas
- Homemade Cleaning Products: Cleaners That Won't Break The Bank!
- 168 Money Saving Tips to Stretch Your Dollar
- How to Make a Budget That Works
- What if I Can’t Afford to Pay My Mortgage Payment?
- 52 Ways to Save Money in College
- My Experience Buying a Used Car with Cash
- 7 Easy Part Time Jobs
- My Husband Lost His Job: How to Survive a Job Loss
- Why the Minimalist Lifestyle Appeals to Me
{44 Comments}
Leave a Reply
Disclaimer and Legal Mumbo Jumbo
I'm just an average mom, trying to live a frugal life and get out of debt. I write about things that have (and haven't) worked to improve my family's financial situation. What works for me may or may not work for you, and you should always consult a financial advisor before making important financial decisions.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, I state that I have a financial relationship with companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways.
Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. I do my best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.
For additional information, please review our legal disclaimers and privacy policy.
I think you fought pretty hard to get as much of your money back as possible. Good job on just not rolling over and letting them take advantage of you.
YES. I would move your accounts as soon as you get everything cleared up. Chase is a very large institution and it seems like the larger the banks get, the more they forget about customer service.
Like SingleGuyMoney said, considering how hard you’ve fought and how much time you’ve already invested in this process, I wouldn’t worry about the remaining $108. Plus, there’s always the slim chances that your e-mails to Chase executive officers might result in something (but I wouldn’t hold my breath).
Once things are squared away, I would definitely change banks. In fact, I’d look into local credit unions that you are eligible to join. They seem to do a considerably better job with customer service than banks. Another option would be opening an ING Electric Orange checking account, but that really depends on how comfortable you are with not being able to go to a brick and mortar bank when necessary.
Yes, you’re right to change banks.
You have no personal obligation to Chase — or any service provider — to stay with them when their rules are more important than their customers.
I also had a similar situation a couple of years ago — with very different results. But I won’t steal your thunder. :>)
Change banks. . .and in the process of closing your account at Chase mention your blog and the number of readers that have read about your experiences with Chase. You might also mention that the best form of advertising is “word of mouth advertising” and what kind of advertising does Chase think you will be doing.
Change banks, make sure you tell Chase why you are leaving and remember that although you were “lucky” it was because you stuck at it that you got a refund. If it were me I would leave it now, but my DH would stick on it until he got it all back!
You are definitely doing the right thing. As you said, their fee structure is predatory. And this is still a free market. There are plenty of other options. Don’t let these people profit off of you further.
We ended up being Chase customers when Washington Mutual was bought by them. I’ve been dragging my feet about switching, even though I’m really not happy with the change. Thanks for sharing your story with us. It’s time to start researching my banking switch.
Wow. That really, really rots.
I applaud you for fighting to get back what you did.
Definately I would change banks. Why would you stay when you know how they do business? I am sorry for your loss of $108 cause that ain’t chickenfeed. Bless your heart……….you have pointed out things to make us all think.
We’re with Chase and have been lucky not to have dealt with this. Hopefully everything does get sorted out soon! I read this today and thought of your predicament: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09......html?_r=1
I admit I am curious as to why you aren’t at a credit union? I’m also with Chase, and have been fortunate not to run into problems. I’ve been with them since before National Bank of Detroit merged with them.
National City is one that I’ll not deal with again because of their fees. Predatory is the word for it!
I’m a big believer in smaller credit unions – mine is fabulous (Citadel – I think it’s local here in PA). i would be out of Chase so fast and would bad-mouth them to everyone I know! The saddest thing of this whole ordeal is that yours is only one of dozens of stories I’ve heard recently about the total lack of customer service, not just in banking, but in ALL industries. Something is wrong somewhere…….
We are very happy with our credit union. I’ve been with them since before hubby and I got married17 years ago. There was one time when we had insufficient funds. (I think we made a subracting error or something.) The credit union staff called us, and told me about the error. They said if we could get them the balance of that outstanding check by 5:00, we wouldn’t be charged all the big fees.
The point is, they went out of their way to help us out. They could have just laughed all the way to the bank. (Pun intended.) But their concern is with their customers.
My advice? Look for a good credit union where you are a name and not an account number.
We opened an account with Chase years ago, when it was still First Chicago here, because it was the only bank set up with direct deposit for my husband’s paycheck (I did say it was years ago!) Back then it was local, and branches were plentiful. Now, it’s global and soulless. Not only do they charge exorbitant fees, they’ll charge you AGAIN if their fees push you into overdraft!! In the blink of an eye, and even with a time stamp on an ATM deposit for proof of deposit (I’ve tried arguing that one), you’ll rack up a hundred dollars in fees. We use a local credit union now.
I’ll address the question as to why I’m not at a credit union. We have a credit union here, and I actually had a savings account there at one time. But a few years ago, they changed their fee structure and started charging exorbitant fees. A lot of people left at that time, including me. Not to mention they only have one star on bankrate’s bank rating system.
Our credit union isn’t a good option, though I will admit that if you have a good credit union, it’s the way to go.
First off, I definitely think you should change banks. They made $108 off you this time and now they’re not going to be able to make anything else off of you ever again. In the long run, they’ll be losing a whole lot more than $204 and it’s their own fault.
Second, the banks are all in hot water recently and I would consider writing a local congressperson to let them know what happened. I don’t think anyone would like to know how a bank left a customer holding the bag for a failed institution’s bad check given the amount of bailout money passed around recently.
Change banks and mention that your readers on your blog are curious about this.
I think it is TERRIBLE. They held the check, then released the money–I thought that is the purpose for holding the check for several days (Didn’t you say that they did). It seems like it is THEIR fault for releasing the funds when they weren’t really there.
They held the check for a day before they released the funds.
Keep fighting for the 108.00. Change banks ASAP. Definitely let Chase know about your blog, AND write your congressperson – heck write Obama too. I think it is crazy that you’re stuck holding the bag for this.
I think you should consider asking Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker for the $108, since really, the fault does lie with them. Chase should have probably put an extended hold on the check originally, and you wouldn’t have been put out at all, but TBW didn’t come through originally. Bank customers need to know that holds are put on checks for their protection, such as in situations like this. I work in a bank, so I know.
Hope your next financial institution works out for you.
YES, for god’s sakes, change banks. Why would anyone reward a bank like that by continuing to give them their business? It’s beyond me.
I am glad that you got the district manager’s attention! Normally when customers talk to ours they get more refunds. :) Of course, it also helps when you are not rude and a jerk. People are more willing to help you then. I am glad you got more fees refunded, Lynnae!
Yeah, I believe in persistence, but not rudeness.
I hope you don’t think I implied you would ever be a jerk! I meant that I knew you would be polite and I am sure that helped you out. :)
I had a customer SCREAMING at me today about her overdraft charges. Not once did I get loud with her or rude. Needless to say, I also didn’t refund any of her charges. ;)
Nope. I was just agreeing with you. It’s important to be polite, because you generally don’t get the results you want when you’re rude. :)
Sorry you got screamed at. I wish people would understand that the people who take complaints aren’t the people who make the policies.
Liane is the only person on here who doesn’t seem insane to me. It’s not Chase’s fault that TBW bounced a check. I mean can you imagine how many bounced checks they have to deal with a day?
I used to work for Bank One in the dept that returned NSF checks. There were a lot of checks that got returned! However we also got a lot of calls from branches asking us to specifically not return certain checks & to run them through again or the next day. We did. It was good service & retained customers.
I believe my job was replaced by a machine that doesn’t care because it’s a bank & money is all that matters now. We’re all just numbers to our banks and businesses we interact with.
While yes, it’s not Chases fault the check was bad, personally I think Chase should have put a longer hold on the check to make sure it cleared. It’s good practice to give any paper (not ACH) item over 500-800 10 days to clear. I’d change not because of the money but because they didn’t protect their customer & that’s part of a bank’s job.
I just changed banks a few months ago because of stuff like this & I haven’t regretted it. I keep separate bank accts for different things & all of them are @ credit Unions or local banks now.
I would definitely get the heck out of Chase. Any of the big banks are nothing but trouble. Find a good, solid local community bank or a credit union. And I would be going after the people that issued you the bad check for all of the fees you incurred because of their bad business practices. They can’t possibly tell you that they didn’t know they were going under when they issued you the check. That’s insane.
Good luck with the next institution! And thanks for sharing your ordeal so we all know what to look out for…
you absolutely need to change banks! find a nice local bank, and give them your business. when companies (including banks) misbehave, we should not continue to give them our business. you are to be commended for keeping at them like you did. take it from someone who worked in banking for years, your bank has no obligation to refund fees (that were not their fault)…but they are obligated to act professional and not hassle the customer. giving the customer the total run-around is inexcusable. banks forget that they are working for the customer–sometimes they act as if it’s the other way around. in my opinion, you can’t find a small local bank and move there fast enough.
I was reading that some banks will actually reorder charges in order to incur more overdraft charges than would normally occur. For example, say someone has $100 in their account and they spend $25, $25 and $108 (in that order). Only the last one should bounce and get the fee, right? Some banks will reorder the charges so the $108 would come first and then all three will bounce. I’m not saying we should all go around bouncing checks—but it does seem more and more banks are becoming predatory.
That is true, and Chase is one of those banks. I know from experience. :)
I watched a video on the subject yesterday (I’ll link to it in my roundup tomorrow for anyone that’s interested), and the banks say the reason is that their customers want it that way. They’d rather have the mortgage payment clear and the $5 trip to the grocery store not clear.
I’m not convinced that’s true though. With overdraft protection, it doesn’t really matter, because all charges will be paid, and then the fees will be passed on to the customer. So the only real difference that clearing the biggest check first makes is that it increases the charges on the customers, as you said.
Not to be bank bashing however Wells Fargo & Bank of the West rearrange the order of the checks too. & I know 2 people whose ACH deposits were processed over 24hrs after their payday causing their bill pay items (that were scheduled to go out on payday) to bounce.
So anyone that uses those two might want to be careful too.
None of us ever plan for an acct to go negative however mistakes happen. I’ve transposed numbers when I’ve balanced my check book & gotten close to being hosed.
My local bank sent me a letter about 2 months ago that for $35 per item they will allow my chg acct to go over without anything getting returned – no interest on the NSF amt if I get the account current within 30 days. To deny the service I have to write a letter requesting the service removed from my acct so, it was something they did to all chckg accts as a “value added service”.
I keep debating if I should cancel that service – I can see both sides to it though.
I always keep everything balanced & keep a small buffer amt in that acct just in case I mis-balance or forget about a check but if I ever do have a big “oops” this service would keep things from getting returned…. so then I’d just have to deal with the banks involved (not apologize to my after school sitter & pay any returned chck fee’s she experiences). However at $34 a piece that could rack up fast if there’s ever such a problem.
It kinda turns the chckg acct into a payday loan if ya aren’t careful – at least from my perspective.
I just don’t get banks anymore. They used to be based upon savings & now they seem based upon fees.
I just got screwed by chase for 7 fee’s at $35 each! I have been running to a branch last couple of days to make deposits and my account has been positive and I asked and was assured that i will not get charged any fee’s. This morning I checked my balance and I was negative over $250 for insufficient funds!!!!!! I have receipts of all my deposits but they have some random pecking order of what transaction goes in first! well it’s not random, they like to put the bigger ones first and then charge you fee’s for each small transaction once you are over drawn! what pisses me off is that I made sure and made multiple cash deposits! I asked the branch manager and he assured me that all is fine! now I am unemployed and I dont know how I will eat for the next week because Chase is making all the money from the poor people!
Right and what make it so bad is that they can get away with it that was part of my rent and I told them that and it was like o wel but right know Im trying to find someone to help me get my money back any help
I had an account at WAMU for about ten years. I had overdraft protection on the account. Then our friends at Chase took over. I’m still at a loss at just what the hell happened but I went online to check the amount of my pay check and found the account to be overdrawn by $177. I flew down to my branch to do a little investigation and found out that the problem was easy to explain, 21 nsf in six days. My “overdraft protection” must have got lost in the suffle because she had no record of it. I closed my account. I closed my savings account and she gave me the balance after deducting the $177 in their “fees” I left the bank with a ” I’ve just been raped” feeling. Two weeks went by and I loged on to the website to see if I could get my last statement and low in behold my checking account had risen from the dead. A mericle!!! I call them up an ask how can this be? They say they can’t close an account if there is a balance. I told them there is no balance. I paid them what they said I owed them and closed it. end of story. He said well maybe not. Sally Mae had sent a request after I closed the account and it was returned unpaid. He said Sally Mae resummited the request three times. Three times returned unpaid. I guess Chase charges $34 to write return to sender on the envelope. My balance is now $-360 and counting
I understand how this feels, read my post
Hi I had deposite my money to my account on sept 21 it said that my account was to the postive but they still hit me with the insufficient funds for $210.00 so I called the bank and they said that i couldn’t get a refund because the last one I had was not in 6 months. I feel that the bank is making more money off of use then where making in a year on the Insufficient funds fee and that is wrong especially with are Ecomny today.
I hate chase! read my comment #33
Ive read all yous stories and it just makes me mad that Chase is making so much money off of people he have no choice but to keep their account close to zero. We are the ones who can’t afford this!!!
Can we make a class action suit against the bank for unfair practice?
They have gone insane this bank!!!! I made a mistake by charging my card too much, and I got minus. This is not a problem. I called to Customer Service, thanks for this blog, and refunded my money $64. Intresting stuff happened after that. I still had -$67 in the bank , and I asked the banker if I will be charged any fees till monday sept. 27th , she said no! I was happy with this answer, because I couldn’t deposit money until monday. Today on sunday, I am checking my account and what I have got??? I got $96 in one fee. Right away I called to customer service, I talked to Banker and he told me that i need to talk to another person about this, and he can refund me only $6. So then they transgered my call to one of the “big people”. The lady was already informed about me and knew what was happening. I told her that I have received wrong information from the banker and because of this I got THE SAME DAY (september 25th) charged more money! She was saying that she can’t do anything about it and it was my mistake that I have made purchases on 24(I got the fee on 25th), the same thing over and over again. I know that those phone calls are recorded for the “quality and something purpose”, I have asked her if I can hear my phone conversation with that lady, so they can see it was their mistake. She told me that she cannot help me with this. So one more valuable customer got tricked. I am in advertising, and I was planning to open two businesses with them and after that I will think about changing the banks. I will talk to banker on monday and see if I can get through them access to that phone call and hear all the truth. I have already had problems with this bank, but I was letting go those times. I will do my best to get this straight. If they did this to me it is $96, they will do this to 1000 people , it is $96 000, not bad from the fees and “mistakes”. I will be changing banks sounds like really soon. I am planning to talk to a lawyer and see if this can help. I am going to get this to the end. Be carefull with this bank, this will not do any good. One day they will get you! Let me know what you think about this.
Sincerely
Volko
Ugh. Sorry to hear this happened to you. I think my biggest complaint is that the phone reps can’t give a straight answer. I was honestly ready to suck up the $80 in fees I was told I’d have to eat, but then I got charged more. And nobody could tell me why. I kept getting different answers.
I realize that banks can charge whatever fees they want, but at least train your customer service reps to explain the fees correctly, so a customer can properly fix their account in an emergency.
i am having the same thing happen to me right now it is ridiculous.
I agree what has been said above
Liz September 9, 2009 at 5:22 am
… You might also mention that the best form of advertising is “word of mouth advertising” and what kind of advertising does Chase think you will be doing.
And I am in advertising, I know how to “save” my clients and friends from this thing.
Hey Guys,
I also have several bad experience about Chase Insufficient fund charge? For funding $2 expenditure in debit card with insufficient fund, they rip $35. There are several instances like these. Is there any suit against Chase for unfair practice? Its high time all valuable customers move out of this customer enemy bank.